Wednesday, August 8, 2012

August 8, 2012 – CALIFORNIA – Richmond residents this morning woke up to the lingering smell of burnt oil from Chevron’s Richmond Refinery, which caught fire last night following a leak. Firefighters and engineers at the plant put the main fire out early this morning, and Chevron reported that its engineers were monitoring a controlled burn as a safety measure to contain pressure. Hundreds of Richmond residents have reported suffering from a variety of respiratory problems following the fire that gutted part of Chevron’s Richmond Refinery Monday night, according to a press release circulated by Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo. The center, which activated its Incident Command Center shortly after the fire erupted in Chevron’s diesel refinery, admitted 181 residents overnight complaining of eye irritation and respiratory ailments after inhaling smoke from the fire. “Now that people are waking up, DMC is currently experiencing a second wave of individuals seeking services,” the center reported in a statement released Tuesday morning. “We expect, and are prepared for, a high demand at the hospital throughout the day.” –SF Gate